Blame cops and firefighters for sky-high public pensions

Public safety retirements are the main reason why many government agencies are saddled with such high retirement costs. The average retirement salary for non-sworn retirees is close to what they would have earned had they been paying into Social Security — about $32,000 per year. On the other hand, most police officers and firefighters make well more than $100,000 per year in retirement pay. And they often supplement this retirement by claiming a disability, which makes the retirement tax free. This is due to strong unions and collective bargaining agreements.

Scot Peterson, the disgraced school public safety officer in the Parkland, Fla., school massacre, retired with a salary exceeding $100,000 per year. And this is in a low-income state such as Florida.